The issues facing the global IP community grow more complex by the day. Many of these issues are driven by advancements in technology and have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. E-commerce has both increased and become more sophisticated in ways that test the limits of established laws. The ease of online purchasing and the borderless reach of e-commerce offers enormous opportunity but is counterbalanced by violations perpetrated by largely unidentifiable entitles located in places that elude efficient enforcement action.

In this landscape, the judiciary plays a pivotal role in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights globally. Judges have a unique perspective and deep insight into how IP law is developed, through their dockets and decisions. And creative judicial thinking is a key driver of the direction IP will take in the future.

INTA has facilitated various think tanks with key stakeholders within the IP community, including IP offices, in-house practitioners, and law firms, all looking to the future of IP. In the latest offering of this initiative, the IP Judiciary of the Future Think Tank Video Series, the Association facilitated discussions with a select panel of judges from jurisdictions around the world. Their wide-ranging conversations, recorded in 25 video segments, cover today’s most pressing IP issues and their impact on the judiciary, with a focus on technology.

The participating judges offer boots-on-the-ground feedback about what they see on their daily dockets, explain how IP law is developed through their decisions, and illustrate the ways in which creative judicial thinking is shaping IP law.

Throughout the series, the judges offer unique perspectives on the ways in which courts in different jurisdictions define, address, and resolve disputes. They also tell the stories of key cases, discuss specific principles of trade and commerce, and offer observations that suggest paths forward at a time when technological advancements far outpace legislative action.

The participating judges are: Justice Luis Diez Canseco Núñez (Court of Justice of the Andean Community (Tribunal de Justicia de la Comunidad Andina), Peru); Judge Paolo Catallozzi (Supreme Court of Italy and Qualified Judge at the Unified Patent Court, Italy); Justice Kwangnam Kim (Suwon District Court, South Korea); Justice Michael Manson (Federal Court of Canada, Canada); Judge Marcia Nunes de Barros (Justiça Federal (Federal Court Rio de Janeiro), Brazil); Elisabeth Ohm (former Justice Norwegian Board of Appeal for Industrial Property Rights, now partner, Acapo AS, Norway); Justice Manmohan Singh (Delhi High Court, India); Justice Dedar Singh Gill (Supreme Court of Singapore, Singapore); and Referendaire Andrej Stec (General Court of EU, Luxembourg).